Evaluation of bacteriuria frequency in primary sjögren's syndrome

Sjögren?s Syndrome is one of the most frequent rheumatologic diseases and affects particularly women. Involvement of exocrine glands with dryness is one of the most prominent clinical features of the disease. Dry eyes and dry mouth are common symptoms but also dryness of the skin and genital dryness may induce significant symptoms. Infections are the most important causes of morbidity and mortality in rheumatologic diseases and the studies in the literature have investigated SLE and RA patients for the frequency of infections. However, there was no study exploring the frequency of urinary tract infection or bacteriuria in primary Sjögren?s Syndrome in the current literature. The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency of bacteriuria in Primary Sjögren?s syndrome patients. , Healthy individuals and patients with rheumatoid arthritis were recruited for the control group. The demographic features, primary diagnoses and therapies of subjects were provided from patient files. Urinary tract infection symptoms, risk factors of UTI, risks for resistant UTI questioning and the American Urological Association symptom scoring questionnaire (AUA 7) were conducted for each subject. The cultures of urine samples taken from subjects after external cleaning were analyzed. Results of the analysis disclosed significant bacteriuria in SS and RA patients. All patients were symptomatic and there were no asymptomatic bacteriuria. The most frequently isolated pathogen was e.coli. The highest AUA 7 scores were observed in SS patients which meant SS patients had more urinary system symptoms. A linear relation between genital dryness and AUA 7 score was detected.